This invention is especially concerned with Poultry Watering Apparatus of the type disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,921,556 issued Jan. 19, 1960, with the cups of Self-Maintaining Poultry Waterer System such as disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,340,852 issued Sept. 12, 1967, and is an improvement over valve control of Waterer Valve Actuator-Float as disclosed and claimed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,094 issued Mar. 2, 1976. The earliest of said patents discloses and claims an upwardly open vessel with its bottom in open communication with a water supply, and with a freely reciprocable element through the opening for manipulation by the poultry so as to keep the opening clear, a self-cleaning arrangement; and this older concept requires the complications of a level controlled water supply. The second mentioned patent discloses and claims improvements in the same type of upwardly open vessels, or waterer cups, and has the improvement or advantage of eliminating the level controlled water supply, but with problems relating to vibration which required means suppressing resonant frequencies. The second patent discloses and claims the open vessel with its valve means adapted to be displaced laterally by the poultry thereby to misalign the valve and pivoting it upon a valve seal so as to admit water through a central port surrounding the said pin, the said open vessel and said valve means being employed with improvements therein in the practice of the present invention which additionally includes the cooperation therewith of an inherently operable mechanism having a number of functions including; back flow prevention, filtration of the fines carried in the water supply, vibration isolation, and self-cleaning so as to prevent the accumulation therein of packed sedimentary materials and/or mineral deposits. The third patent discloses and claims a float actuated valve in such a waterer, in order to ensure the closing function of the valve but with the float exposed to the pecking habits of the fowl.
Poultry waterers have the ever-present problems of sanitation, insofar as hygiene of the fowl is concerned. Fundamentally, the natural and instinctive habits of the fowl must be met with and their habits are not conducive to cleanliness, and to the contrary measures must be taken to cope with and advantageously employ said natural habits and instinctive actions of the fowl. Therefore, it is a general object of this invention to provide all the advantages of the three (3) aforesaid patented waterers while correcting the deficiencies in the last mentioned patented waterer which is vulnerable to the habits of the fowl that are so destructive to float mechanisms. Accordingly, the present invention provides a positive shut-off when the animal backs away from the waterer cup as a result of the rising water level therein, and promotes sanitary conditions through the prevention of back flow therefrom, through the filtration that prevents fines from passing therethrough and/or collecting therein, and through the isolation of the reservoir cup of the waterer from the water supply under pressure. It is significant that the multiplicity of functions herein referred to are accomplished in the provision of one accessible element in a single body and all of which renders the installation of the waterer units extremely practical.
The back flow function is important in that water discharged into the open reservoir of a waterer cup must be prevented from returning to its source, such as to the manifold from which it is supplied. Therefore, the check valve filter permits passage of water into the cup reservoir and prevents return thereof. Consequently, the manifold supply for the waterer herein disclosed can be serviced, and for example periodically cleaned without disrupting operation of the waterer. Further, with the waterer cup and its poultry operated shut-off valve, pressure changes involved during servicing and cleaning of the manifold supply do not have adverse effect, due to the presence of the back flow check feature.
The filtration and self-cleaning function is important in that the alluvial bodies and minerals carried in the water supply do not accumulate so as to impair operation of the waterer. In practice, hundreds of waterer cup units are employed off a single manifold installation, and it is imperative that maintenance be reduced to a minimum. The self-cleaning function is highly advantageous and concerns itself with elimination of fines, regardless of the magnitude thereof. Consequently, large sized fines are excluded by virtue of the limited passage size involved, small sized fines are passed as inconsequential, and any accumulation of small sized fines and/or mineral deposits or corrosion are worked out and away by the repeated reciprocal motions of the moving elements that characterize the present invention.
The vibration isolating function of the present invention is a requirement upon which the dynamics of the water supply have no effect that would impair operation of the many waterer units involved. In this respect, reference is made to hydraulic surges and resonant frequencies that will develop and cause malfunctioning of such waterer systems. With the mechanism of the present invention, the checking of reverse flow inherently isolates the poultry operated shut-off valve from the manifold pressure surges and/or resonant frequencies that from time to time occur. And, without inducement said surges and resonance will subside and will not be amplified.
In waterer systems where water pressure is relied upon for effecting the normal valve closures, total loss of pressure in the water supply brings about difficulties in reinstating system operation. That is, extensive waterer systems will not build up sufficient pressure in the relatively short length of time required before flooding will occur, and in some instances might never build up pressure because of the total open condition. Therefore, in the event of a catastrophe or power failure due to storms, etc. and beyond human control, extensive waterer systems of the type under consideration must be shut down and restarted, and all of which is time consuming and can occur when man power is not available. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide improved waterers by which each individual waterer is positively protected against flooding by providing a spring bias for the valve thereof.
With the foregoing borne in mind, fowl are destructive animals that are raised in multitudes and waterers are therefore correspondingly subject to deterioration. Therefore, any substantial improvement in the valve control of the waterer cups is highly advantageous. In this respect the state of the art provides float controlled waterer cups which include backflow preventors and discharge cleaners, and all of which is related to the cup configuration and normal water level therein coordinated with the animal feeding habits. However, floats that are actuated by the beaks of fowl deteriorate rapidly and are in need of constant repair. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a positive means that is not exposed to the pecking habits of the fowl and which remain reliable in operation so as to ensure closing of the shut-off valve. Cooperating with said shut-off valve actuation is the baffle which acts as a spring seat while it too is biased into tightly sealed engagement with the waterer body so as to preclude downward precipitation of debris.